Football: River Ridge 45, Central 7

NEW PORT RICHEY — River Ridge's homecoming game got off to a good start. The Royal Knights clicked on all cylinders as they got their first victory, defeating Central 45-7.

River Ridge got things started early, scoring just six minutes in as Bradley Lach rushed from 2 yards out to give the Knights a 7-0 lead. River Ridge was forced to punt on its next possession but got the ball right back after recovering a botched pickup by Central (1-4), giving the Knights nice field position. Austin Schwarz scored on the next play, running in from 15 yards out.

Central's DeAntre Jackson tried to keep his team in the game. He capped a 10-play drive with a 10-yard run to put the Bears within striking distance. However, River Ridge (1-4) scored twice before halftime to put the game out of reach. Josh Maisel threw a 9-yard touchdown to Derek Glenn to put River Ridge up 21-7. Brandon Nazzario returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown to end the half.

The Knights kept the pressure on in the second half. Schwarz scored another touchdown, this time on defense, intercepting a Josh Burkhart pass and returning it 38 yards. River Ridge scored once more to seal the game.